Major League Baseball

Catching for Nolan Ryan and Shohei Ohtani: Iván Rodriguez joins 'Flippin' Bats'

Published Sep. 29, 2021 11:17 p.m. ET

Legend. Icon. Hall of Famer.

Those are just a few of the appropriate terms to describe Iván "Pudge" Rodriguez, who stopped by "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" this week to discuss his all-time great career as an MLB catcher.

Rodriguez was a 14-time All-Star, 13-time Gold Glove selection and World Series champion.

In 1999, he made history by becoming the first catcher since Johnny Bench in 1979 to be named MVP, winning the award in the American League. The two backstops shared a special moment at the award ceremony.

"It means a lot because he [Bench] was my favorite player growing up," Rodriguez said. "To be able to do that, he was there at the ceremony to present me the award. It was an unbelievable feeling to me, and I remember telling him that you’re my hero.''

Pudge Rodriguez discusses significance of winning MVP as a catcher ' Flippin Bats

Pudge Rodriguez sits down with Ben Verlander and talks about the emotions he felt after winning MVP as a catcher. Pudge mentions how much Johnny Bench, the only other catcher to win MVP at the time, meant to him.

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But before he was winning awards and being recognized as one of MLB's greatest players, Rodriguez was a wide-eyed 19-year-old on the Rangers catching for one of the franchise's most iconic players: Nolan Ryan.

"It was a great moment: The second game of my career I caught Nolan Ryan," he said. "When the game started, I was nervous, obviously, catching a Hall of Famer. You're talking about a man who could be my father. I was 19 years old. Nolan was 45, 46 years old at the time."

Pudge Rodriguez on catching for Nolan Ryan, Robin Ventura fight, more ' Flippin Bats

Pudge Rodriguez sits down with Ben Verlander to discuss catching for Nolan Ryan, and the infamous Robin Ventura/Nolan Ryan fight. Pudge went on to talk about the importance he placed on defense.

Notably, Rodriguez was also present for one of the biggest brawls in MLB history between Ryan and Robin Ventura.

"I was kind of, like, in shock," Rodriguez said of that moment. "It basically was expected to happen. Robin did something to make Nolan mad when we played Chicago the series before. He slid really hard into second base and hurt one of the guys that we had. It was waiting to happen."

Two significant turning points in Rodriguez's career came when he signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Marlins in 2003, the team with which he then won the World Series, and when, following that season, he surprised the sport by signing a four-year, $40 million deal with the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers were 43-119 in 2003, but Rodriguez saw potential in their roster.

"I was going to Detroit because that's the team that I liked," he said. "A young team, good pitching, a pitching staff that needed someone like me behind the plate, using my experiences as a catcher. I think that's what the pitching staff for the Tigers needed at that time."

By 2006, the Tigers had completed their turnaround, winning the AL pennant to appear in the World Series.

"It was awesome because that was really a team effort," Rodriguez said.

Pudge Rodriguez on joining the Detroit Tigers, culture rebuild ' Flippin Bats

Pudge Rodriguez talks with Ben Verlander about why he decided to join the Detroit Tigers, just after winning the World Series with the Miami Marlins.

For more up-to-date news on all things Tigers, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

Rodriguez collected a lot of individual accolades throughout his career, but he also played a hand in a few pitchers' career highlights by catching their no-hitters. During a season in which an MLB-record nine no-hitters have been tossed, the Hall of Famer talked about the importance of the catcher in accomplishing this feat.

"The catcher is involved pretty much in the majority," he said. "We come to the ballpark early, and we read some reports, go to the video and write our own report. From there, we go to the pitching coach, and the pitching coach would do the same work that I'd do for the game. Then we just put it together to show it to the pitcher before the game.

"When we are in the game and we are working on a no-hitter, it's basically something that you don't pay attention to much. We are just in the rhythm of calling a great game."

'The catcher plays a vital role' - Pudge Rodriguez on catcher/pitcher's no-hitter relationship ' Flippin Bats

Pudge Rodriguez breaks down the relationship that a pitcher and catcher have during a no-hitter.

Even with so many dominant pitching performances this season, one name stands out to Rodriguez as the pitcher he wishes he could catch: Shohei Ohtani.

"I just want to see how his pitches look from behind the plate," he said. "The splitter that he throws, to me, that I have never seen. When you throw a splitter like that and breaks almost a foot, at 93 miles per hour, I just wanted to see that behind the plate, how that moves."

Pudge Rodriguez on why he would want to catch for Shohei Ohtani ' Flippin' Bats

Hall of Famer and former catcher Iván Rodriguez explains why, of all the current MLB pitchers, he would want to catch for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani's season as a pitcher is complete, with the Angels eliminated from the postseason. He finished 9-2 as a starter with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts across 130.1 innings.

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For more from Iván Rodriguez and Ben Verlander, watch the full episode of "Flippin’ Bats" below:

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @Verly32.